Emerald
by Neko-chan -Silvered Tongue
Summary: [B-Day fic for Uke-chan aka Ninetails] Kaiba x Otogi ... It's Otogi's 18th birthday. And, unfortunately, he's not having a very good one. (Gee, I wonder why? XD) Now, let's see if Kaiba can change this. And ...snails! o.o;;


Emerald

By: Neko-chan

A/N:  Dedicated to my Uke-chan because it's her birthday, I 3, and I probably won't be able to see her until next summer, _when_ and _if_~, I go to the University of Queensland, Australia.  But, once again, I 3 her and she makes me smile when I'm sad.  I just hope that I can give even just a little of that back to her.  *licku*

WARNING: Shounen-ai.  Seto Kaiba/Ryuuji Otogi.  Neko-chan's twisted sense of humor.  (Otogi?  If I were you, I'd run… _now_~  D)

DISCLAIMER:  Pffft.  Go away.

*   ~   *

"All the small things

True care, truth brings

I'll take one lift

Your ride, best trip

Always, I know

You'll be at my show

Watching, waiting, commiserating

Say it ain't so, I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home…"

--'All The Small Things' – blink 182

Have you ever had one of those days?  One of those days, where you walk outside your home, stare up at the crystal-clear blue sky, take in a deep breath… and know that that day would be an _amazing_ day?  After all, that day just happened to be your birthday, so why wouldn't it be an _amazing_ day?  It was one of **_those_** days, and nothing could possibly go wrong.

Yeah.

One of **_those_** days.

Unfortunately for me, today just happened to NOT be one of those days.

I stepped outside of the apartment early in the morning, watching the sun as it slowly rose above the horizon.  Pinks and yellows and bright, bright oranges swam across the sky, painting it in cheery and summer-tinted pastels.  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and waited for something absolutely wonderful to happen to me.

Today was my eighteenth birthday—I was finally an adult and I was more than ready to take my place in the 'adult world.'  I was more than ready.  I had waited so long for this moment and I couldn't wait to take my first few steps in a world that was larger and grander than the one that I had been previously living in.  I took another deep breath…

…and shrieked in dismay as a freak thunderstorm formed above my apartment complex and dumped about twenty gallons of water on my perfectly coiffed hairdo.  (One that I had spent the past two hours carefully sculpting.)

Hello, world.  It's nice to meet you, too.

~   ~   ~

It took another three hours to get my hair back to what it had once been.  (That ponytail isn't an easy thing to accomplish, you know.  The hair pulled back must all be slicked back and there cannot be a hair out of place.  The wisps surrounding my face are artfully placed; each one represents an aspect of my character.  If a wisp appears out of place, or there are more wisps than there are supposed to be, it gives off the wrong image.  Can't have that.)  Once I was finally done with that, I was able to start on my make-up.  (Black mark coming down from one of my eyes?  Birthmark?  Hello~) It didn't take as long as I had suspected (that's the thing with bad luck; you expect it, it doesn't come), but the eyeliner that _had_ been full and sharpened the night before was… **mysteriously**… three-fourths gone and dulled to a flat nonexistent point.

Dressing wasn't much better, either.

My favorite vest, my favorite pair of black leather pants, even my favorite _hair band_ were all gone.  I shrieked about this for a good minute or two or five, but Don Juan (my new assistant) told me that they had been taken to be washed and cleaned.  Pfffft.  As if.  Washdays are on Saturday.  Today just happened to be… (A quick look at the calendar will prove that I am right~) … _Saturday?!_

Well, fine.  Fine, fine, fine, fine~  I still have my lucky die earring and I WILL wear it, come hell or high water!  And…  where did the earring go?

What do you mean, _I GAVE IT TO A CERTAIN OVERENTHUSIASTIC FAN?!_  LIKE HELL I DID!!!  …  I want my lucky die earring back!  **Now**, thankyouverymuch~ 

…

Kami-sama?  May I ask you one small question?

What the hell have I ever done to _you_ to deserve _this_?!

Yeah, sure.  Don't even bother to answe---

DID YOU JUST SEE HOW CLOSE THAT LIGHTNING BOLT CAME TO THE APARTMENT COMPLEX?!

…

And I finished dressing without uttering a word of complaint.  The make-inu says that I'm nothing more than a pretty face.  I may not be as smart as Bakura or Kaiba, but I do eventually learn when to shut my mouth.  Right now just seemed to be one of those times.  (Please~ don't let the apartment complex burn down, Kami-sama!  If I've offended you in any way—which, knowing me, I probably have—please forgive me and my rather large (though sexy as hell) mouth!

…and the rain just started to pour down all that much harder.

~   ~   ~

And, obviously, if we continue going with this thread of activities, Seto Kaiba would, _of course_, end up being a little bit late for our date that was scheduled for seven later on that night.  (Though Seto has **never** been late for anything in his whole entire life.  But, once again, I reiterate: Today is different.  It's my birthday.  And Kami-sama hates me.)  And, of course, I was right.

…Seto Kaiba  did end up being late.  But did I say that he would end up being a little bit late for our date?  Because that's not true.  _Of course_ it couldn't have been!  'Why?' some of you may ask.  Well, I'll tell you.  In fact, I'd be more than happy to tell you!

Seto ended up being two hours late.

And I?  I had accidentally locked my keys in my apartment.  Sooo~  I got to stand outside, waiting for Seto to finally come and pick me up for our date.  For two hours.  Two long, frustrating, makes-me-want-to-tear-my-hair-out-by-its-roots-just-remembering-it, never ending hours.  Yeah.  _That_ type of waiting.

Did I mention that it was cold?  And raining?  And windy?  And~ my coiffed hairstyle, the one that I had to redo twice because Kami-sama now hates my guts?  Yeah, that one?  Ha~  Let's just say that hairstyles are _not_ waterproof.

So, yeah, where was I?  Waiting for Seto Kaiba to finally show up with his exceptionally-fine-but-late ass, wasn't I?  And thus~ I waited.  And waited.  And waited some more.  As I already mentioned to you, I waited for him for two miserable hours.  In the cold.  And the rain.  And… let me just tell you, it was _not_ fun.

Finally, he decided to show up.  I was **_very_** happy to see him (How could I not be?  Seto Kaiba dressed in an Armani tux should be considered one of the Seven Deadly Sins); I was not happy, however, to see that he had forgotten that it was my birthday.

Being the amiable person that I was, I ignored the fact that it appeared that he had forgotten my birthday.  So I then asked him what we were celebrating at the city's most expensive restaurant.  And do you know what the damn bastard told me?!  We were going out to celebrate a new business deal that he had managed to get the week before.  A business deal.  _A business deal.  **Not**_~ my eighteenth birthday, as I had originally thought.

Well, damn.  This day just keeps on getting better and better.

…

Have I ever mentioned the fact that I hate, hate, hate, **_hate_** French cuisine?  If I haven't yet managed to express that particular loathing for a certain food-stuff, then let me express that distaste right now.  I hate French food.  I loathe French cuisine.  I can't stand it.  I would be happy and content if a certain egotistical country came back to Japan and bombed all of the French restaurants out of existence.  I hate the spices, I hate the food selections that the restaurants give you, the wine is weak, everything is so bland and you can't taste _anything_, and does the waiter honestly expect you to read the menu and actually understand what's written there?!

Absolutely clueless as to what I was ordering, I followed Seto's lead and ordered the same thing that he did.  The wine that came before the meal was actually pretty good—sweet and just a little bit fruity, almost transparent in the crystal glass that the other waiters gave to us.  'Course, that was when our food was served.  The waiter that was serving me set the covered plate down in front of me, smiling happily.  He then preceded to lift the metal cover off of the plate with a well-practiced flourish, revealing…

…_snails._

~   ~   ~

"Ryuuji?"

"Hmmm?"  

After such a horrible day, I was actually happy to finally come home.  All of the events could be forgotten, left far behind in distant memory.  The bad luck that seemed to follow me since early morning, horrible date, the fact that even Kami-sama conspired against me today to kill me—it didn't matter anymore.  Today was finally over.  

Everything could be forgotten as I soaked for a long while in the bathtub, letting the warm water caress my tired limbs, wash away the hurt that bubbled up inside when I finally realized that the person that I loved the most forgot about the fact that today was my eighteenth birthday.

People say that birthdays are magical, mystical days; days that are full of happiness, full of wishes that are granted and come true only on this special day.  …  Right at this moment, I would like nothing more than to track down the person who first said this, point a nice, big, black handgun at said person's head, and pull the trigger.  Bitter?  Who, me?  Of course not~

"Ryuuji?  I… wanted to wish you a happy birthday."  

Seto smiled slightly and leaned forward, his breath warm upon my cheek as our lips met, touched, and gently caressed each other.  He soon pulled away, still smiling softly.  The brunette paused for a long moment, then twisted in his seat, reaching for something that was hidden on the floor of the backseat.

I blinked and my vision was filled with crimson.  Pulling back, I was able to make out detail—soft velvet, each dipped in blood, adorned with glittering diamonds.  They smelled of musk, of summer, and of freshly turned ground.  The way that the earth smells just after a particularly long rain shower.  Around the ribbon that held their stems together, there rested a golden ring, an emerald the color of my eyes placed in its center.

"Happy Birthday, Ryuuji."

…

Let's just say that that night more than made up for the day.

…if you get my drift.

~Owari~

::End::

A/N:  Happy Birthday, Uke-chan.  =^^=


End file.
